Illinois quick hits: Work training grants announced; farmers donating to food banks
Work training grants announced
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has announced an additional $13 million investment in the Job Training and Economic Development Program for workforce training for Illinoisans struggling to gain meaningful employment.
As part of Illinois’ workforce recovery efforts, the grants focus on helping increase employment among workers and industries hardest hit by COVID-19. Grantees will be selected through a competitive Notice of Funding Opportunity process.
Farmers donating to food banks
Central Illinois farmers have donated 6,600 pounds of ground pork to the Midwest Food Bank.
Since 2008, the “Pork Power” campaign has been a partnership between the Illinois Pork Producers Association and several other organizations as a way to give back to the community. Officials at Midwest Food Bank, with three locations in Illinois, said food insecurity in the area has risen by 25% since last year.
Giant statute relocated
A 19-foot-tall statue of a man holding a hot dog that has stood in Cicero for years has a new home.
The statue was a fixture at Bunyon’s hot dog stand for more than three decades. The statue has been moved to the American Giants Museum in Atlanta, where it will be placed alongside six other giant roadside statues. The owner notes the 10-foot-long hot dog has mustard and no ketchup.
